The silence following a battle between gods was never truly silent.
The Secretive Plotter stood amidst the cooling debris of a shattered dimension.
The God of Error, Amon, had slipped through their fingers like a phantom, leaving behind only the mocking adjustment of a monocle.
"Where did you send them?" the Plotter rumbled, his voice heavy with the gravity of the Supernova Dominator he now carried within his soul.
Bihyung wiped soot from his white tiger-fur cloak. His three yellow horns flickered weakly.
"To a place that doesn't belong to any of us. Since the Convergence, there is a sector of reality that neither the Dokkaebis nor the Star Stream can comprehend. It's a relic from the other Universe—the Tower of Miracles."
Bihyung looked at the spot where Kim Dokja and Gehrman Sparrow had vanished.
"In that universe, even the most powerful guild failed to clear it. From this moment on, their survival is entirely in their own hands."
"Bihyung," a voice interrupted. It was the Great Dokkaebi Noksu, appearing as a refined indigo scholar. "The Story King summons us. The probability balance is tilted; we must stabilize the Bureau."
As the Dokkaebis prepared to depart, Noksu looked at the Plotter with a cryptic glimmer in his indigo eyes.
"You have received an interesting scenario, Plotter. I'll watch closely after you."
The Plotter didn't answer.
He waved his hand, dismissing the Dokkaebis, and opened the flickering blue window that he received since arriving back to Star Stream.
===
Category: Hidden
Difficulty: ???
Summary: To fully master the status of a 'Great Old One', you must re-accommodate the Sefirot of the Supernova Dominator. The core of this power has been attracted to a specific coordinate in the Star Stream.
Goal: Subjugate and integrate the stellar core at the center of
Reward: Authority of Great Old One.
Failure: Your soul will be used as a fuel for a new galaxy.
===
Beside it, a secondary window blinked—a fake sub-scenario clearly fabricated by a certain "fraudulent" reader.
===
Category: Sub
Difficulty: A-
...
Goal: Escort the incarnation 'Lee Hyunsung' to the Emerald Castle to unlock his hidden potential.
...
===
The Plotter ignored it.
He stepped through the void, his path lit by the dying embers of constellations.
As he moved through the Star Stream, the scenery was a nightmare of a collapsing multiverse.
He passed planets he once knew—now reduced to floating husks of mutated plants or engulfed in the iridescent slime of the Sublunary Eye. He saw new, jagged worlds that shouldn't exist, where civilizations knelt before the altars of Outer Deities.
'How is this possible?' the Plotter wondered. 'Who possesses the Probability to force three universes into a single, bleeding vessel?'
For a moment, he felt a gaze—cold, vast, and ancient... and very familiar.
His sponsor.
The Plotter let out a weary sigh.
Within his mind, the voices of the Kkomas began to argue.
"What if we loose control?!" one shrieked.
"Shut up! We need that Sefirot to finally reach ■■!" another yelled.
"Silence," the Plotter commanded inwardly. "Focus on suppressing the Supernova's psyche. I am tired of your bickering."
The arguing stopped, replaced by a tense, focused hum.
Finally, the planet appeared before him.
Oz.
Once, it was the Star Stream's most magnificent theme park—a world of emerald paths and mechanical wonders.
Now, it felt like a tomb.
Debris of Story Metal flew around it, forming something similar to what rings of Saturn looked like.
The Plotter descended.
Oz was a desert of iron filings and broken cogs.
Massive spatial vortexes tore at the atmosphere, remnants of an Outer Deity's passing.
He walked past the ruins of the "Memory Experience Center," his boots crunching on discarded wolf-ear and fox-ear headbands.
He reached the Emerald Castle.
It sat at the end of a yellow-brick road that had been bleached white by radiation.
[Outer God 'King of the Silver Heart' is looking at you.]
[Constellation 'Master of Steel' is looking at you.]
"The Tin Woodman and..." the Plotter began.
A figure emerged from behind the heavy, velvet curtains of the castle throne room.
It was a man with massive shoulders and a face that radiated an unbreakable, stoic kindness.
But his skin was no longer flesh; it was a shimmering, mercury-colored steel that pulsed with the weight of an Outer God.
It was Lee Hyunsung of the 999th turn.
"You look terrible," the Plotter commented.
[The 999th Regression 'Yoo Joonghyuk' feels depressed.]
Heavy silence remained until Plotter finally spoke.
"Why did you try to break the Astral Barrier?"
Hyunsung spoke, his voice sounding like two tectonic plates grinding together.
"I didn't want to invade Earth."
Hyunsung gestured toward a table where a teapot sat, steaming with a faint, metallic aroma.
"I wanted to protect them."
The Plotter took a seat.
In a breach of his most sacred principle—never eating food made by another—he picked up the porcelain cup and took a sip of the tea.
"After the Convergence began," Hyunsung continued, his eyes reflecting the dying light of the castle, "Kim Namwoon was the first to fall. He was attracted to Earth like a moth to a flame. He died there. We don't know if it was fate or his own madness. Lee Jihye... she went insane with rage. She wanted to break through to avenge him, to slaughter the Chameleon Troupe and the one called Medici who struck the final blow."
Hyunsung sighed, sparks of Probability dancing around his metal fingers.
He bit his own finger off; a new one made of pure Story Steel grew back instantly.
"Uriel... she was led by the desire to find you. When she couldn't find you in the N'Gai Forest, she became convinced you were hiding behind the barrier. When the 'Corruption Alliance' reached out to us, she agreed. I joined them only to keep them from being consumed by the deeper madness. I didn't want Earth destroyed, but I had to protect my companions."
"Where are they now?" the Plotter asked.
"Recovering in N'Gai Forest," Hyunsung said. "The sanctuary you created to protect Outer Gods... it truly became the only safe place."
A long, awkward silence followed as they finished their tea.
"I forgave you a long time ago," Hyunsung said softly.
The Plotter smiled—a rare, genuine expression.
"It doesn't matter now. In this world where three universes bleed into one, only our lives and our principles remain."
Hyunsung scoffed, pointing at the empty teacup.
"Your principles seem to be melting. You drank the tea I made."
"Let's go," the Plotter said, standing up. "Show me what happened to this place."
As they walked through the ruins of Oz, Hyunsung explained the planet's downfall.
"When the Convergence began, a Sefirot from an Outer Deity was pulled into this planet's gravitational well. The Master of Steel... he couldn't stop it. To save Oz, he used his own body as the final layer of a multi-layered seal made of Story Metal and Giant Stories."
Hyunsung's metallic face darkened.
"He sacrificed himself. He loved this park, but he loved his incarnation more. He passed his modifier to me before he dissolved. He asked me to take care of him."
He stopped and looked from behind the shoulder, his expression indifferent.
"Don't you find it sad?.."
He waited for an answer.
But none came.
"Then... Why did he smile? Why would he smile when dying?"
...
They reached the center of the planet.
A gargantuan crater plunged miles into the iron crust, glowing with a violent, white-hot intensity.
"You came for this, didn't you?" Hyunsung asked. "I can feel the same aura in you. The seal is barely holding; it's starting to tear the planet apart. I will unseal it for you."
The Secretive Plotter looked at the man who had been his most loyal shield through a thousand deaths.
He looked at emotionless Lee Hyunsung.
He observed his features for some time.
Monolid eyes.
Thick eyebrows.
Big mouth.
A face that he'd seen hundreds of thousands of times... seemed friendly? Was it always like that?
[Story 'Mad Soldier Yoo Joonghyuk' is awakening after a long sleep.]
Yoo Joonghyuk's heart ached.
"Thank you," he said. "Thank you for protecting them."
The Plotter walked to the edge of the abyss.
"Captain!" Hyunsung called out suddenly.
The Plotter turned his head.
"Please... come back alive."
Without a word, the Secretive Plotter stepped into the white-hot void.
He was smiling.
Like a fool.
Like a child.
Why?
He didn't know.